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Key Topics
Requirement
Within your workplace, or a workplace you can obtain access to; address the following:
Review the approach to implementing and monitoring infection control policy and procedure. For each of the points below identify at least three strengths and make one recommendation for improvement.
Write a report detailing your findings, ensuring that you cover the following:
• What the current policy and procedures are
• How is information on the approach to infection control maintained and updated?
• What is the approach for implementing infection control into work practices – provide two examples and explain the process/components involved in the implementation.
• How is infection control monitored and improved? What is the data collected? How is staff feedback gained? How is it used? Provide at least one example of where a procedure has been improved through monitoring.
Please ensure you attach evidence to demonstrate you have performed each of these.
Solution
Introduction:
This report discusses about the implementation and monitoring of infection control policy and procedure in one of the Australian healthcare organizations. In the first part of this report, the approach to infection prevention and control practices within the healthcare establishment have been analyzed and some areas of concern have been identified. Appropriate recommendations have been offered to improve the current practices within the hospital. In the second part of the report, the discussion is based on the implementation of a new and improved infection prevention and control system within the organization to ensure better maintenance of health and hygiene within the hospital (Council, National Health and Medical Research, 2010). This new infection prevention technique will have to be monitored from time to time and the hospital management needs to ensure that the healthcare professionals abide by such rules as a mandate and under no circumstances they tend to divert from those established protocols and guidelines. This will ensure better patient satisfaction and will also offer a much improved work ambience within the hospital (Council, National Health and Medical Research, 2010).
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Discussion:
Current policy and procedures:
The analysis of the current approaches to infection control and prevention within the organization has detected the following regarding the current policy and procedures:
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• There are policies to control and prevent risks of contracting an infection that is associated with healthcare (National Health and Medical Research Council, 2018).
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• Policies also exist regarding the basic infection prevention strategies and precautions against transmission-based infections caused by various infectious agents.
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• Basic risk management strategies to prevent patients and healthcare professionals from falling victims to various infectious diseases within the healthcare facility are also in place.
Strengths:
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1. The policies are effectively implemented as per the guidelines of the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.
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2. The management focuses on infection prevention within the healthcare facility and thereby endeavors to implement strict controls.
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3. The observance of the policy has helped in reducing the cases of infections within the healthcare facility related to the patients and health professionals.
Recommendation:
The management needs to implement more strict monitoring and supervision to ensure that the infection prevention policies are adequately observed by all the healthcare staffs. At present, there are evidences of lack of observance of the policies by some of the negligent healthcare staffs.
Strategy for maintaining and updating information related to method of infection control:
The evaluation of the current systems of maintenance and update of information related to approach to infection control revealed the following:
Strengths:
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1. There is an updated IT infrastructure with automated systems that have made the task of storing, maintaining and retrieving data related to systems followed by each staff towards infection control very convenient and reliable (Zingg & Walter, 2015).
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2. The healthcare professionals are supposed to share the details of every action they have taken towards infection control and prevention on a daily basis to their supervisors who then enter such data within the computer systems.
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3. Each healthcare staff has to maintain a daily checklist related to infection control tools or strategies undertaken under different circumstances that help to maintain authentic records and facilitates future reference.
Recommendation:
It has been identified that some of the healthcare staffs are not maintaining the daily checklists and not fairly reporting to their supervisors about regular contributions to infection control and prevention within the facility. Therefore, the management needs to adopt stricter intervention strategies to ensure that such negligence does not happen in future (NHMRC, 2010).
Approach for implementing infection control into work practices:
Example 1:
The healthcare staffs ensure that all the medical equipment and apparatus are well sterilized before they use them on patients. Similarly, after an apparatus has been used on a patient with some contagious infection, it is again sterilized with adequate protective measures like wearing gloves so that the apparatus and equipment do not come in direct contact with the body of the healthcare staff. This is an example of contact transmission prevention.
Example 2:
The other approach that can be observed in infection prevention by the staffs in the hospital is the strategy implemented against airborne transmission of infections. Tiny particles of aerosols are produced when a person breathes and if it is exhaled by a patient suffering from an infection then such particles containing the infectious agent remain suspended in the air for considerable period of time. Any person inhaling that air might be exposed to contracting that disease. Therefore, the staffs make it sure to keep infectious patients confined to some separate areas in the facility and any other person of healthcare professional entering into that unit has to wear a protective mask that has filters to keep the infectious agents from entering into the respiratory tract of the persons. This is an example of airborne transmission prevention.
Strengths:
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1. The practice of using sterilized equipment helps to mitigate possibilities of contagious infections.
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2. The policy of wearing protective masks and ensuring good ventilation within the facility promotes efficient prevention measures of various infectious diseases.
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3. The strategies help to ensure better overall hygiene and safety for both the patients and the healthcare workers.
Recommendation:
The analysis has depicted that there are some staffs who do not often indulge in effective sterilization of the equipment and apparatus which can be extremely detrimental for them and the patients also. Hence, there should be even better invigilation and control of these issues by the supervisors to curb this unhealthy practice (NHMRC, 2010).
Monitoring and improvement of infection control practices:
The monitoring of infection control techniques is done with the help of data collected by the supervisors regarding the activities of their subordinates in this regard.
The information collected about each of the healthcare professionals is entered into the daily reports which are maintained in hard copies as well as in soft copies where the information is stored in the computer systems.
The feedbacks of the staffs are gathered on questionnaires and daily checklists and such responses are recorded in the form of data in computers.
Such data are used to arrive at valuable analysis and findings depending on which future strategies are developed.
Example:
In the Intensive Care Unit, there were some staffs those were negligent of maintaining the safety and hygiene of the various equipment used in monitoring the patients. They were not wearing gloves, protective masks and other precautionary measures were not being adequately undertaken. Through effective monitoring the supervisor observed these activities over a period of time and stored such data in the system regarding the misbehavior of each of the guilty professionals. Then, intervention was undertaken to call them and ask for explanations. They were warned of dire consequences in future like loss of job of they did not observe the protocols. Thereafter, the situation improved manifold.
Strengths:
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1. The data collection related to the daily activities of the health professionals is a good measure to store information for future reference.
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2. The data stored in soft copy format can be retrieved whenever required and this will help in future reference check of the activities of the particular staff.
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3. The survey conducted on the professionals is an effective tool as it helps to gather their perspectives on the current infection prevention and control system within the hospital.
Recommendation:
It is recommended to the management that since the storage of all the data related to the performance of the staffs is stored in the computer systems, it is essential to limit access to the system and only authorized personnel should be allowed to access such sensitive information. This will help to prevent misuse, deletion or leakage of sensitive data.
Project 2:
There needs to be undertaking of a change management strategy to ensure better infection control and prevention within the hospital. It will consist of the following strategies:
Hand hygiene and hand care:
The use of hand-washes and gloves needs to be a mandate at the time of handling any medical equipment or apparatus and in time of dealing with patients with infectious diseases (Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, 2018).
Use of personal protective equipment:
Protective equipment such as masks or gloves should be used whenever required to prevent contracting infectious diseases both for patients and healthcare professionals.
Surface cleaning:
Surface cleaning of equipment and materials touched daily is to be done with detergent solutions regularly to prevent contamination.
Waste management:
Waste products should be disposed of at the specified locations outside the premises of the hospital in some safe and secure bins or pits which cannot be accessed by patients or healthcare professionals in their daily activities.
Handling of potentially infectious material:
Infectious material handling should be done only when it is absolute urgency. Precautionary measures should be taken like wearing effective protection.
Hazard identification and risk assessment and management:
The staffs will be trained to identify the various types and causes of hazards so that effective risk assessment and risk mitigation strategies could be undertaken by the staffs whenever there is a potential contingency.
Training of staffs:
As for example 2 of the existing staffs of the hospital will first be trained on the various aspects of infection prevention and control. They will be imparted with theoretical knowledge as well as practical demonstration. They need to pass in the written examination as well as a practical scenario demonstration where they need to show their skills and knowledge in effective handling of a situation pertaining to the need for effective infection control techniques to be demonstrated. The trainer and the supervisor will monitor the activities of the 2 staffs and rate them. They will record the proceedings and share the outcome later that will be counted in performance appraisal of the staffs. This process will then be implemented for the rest of the staffs also to ensure strict adherence to the organizational protocols.
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In conclusion it can be said that effective implementation of infection prevention and control measures is indispensable in a healthcare organization. Lack of proper infrastructure and effective managerial leadership might mead to ineffective observance of the infection prevention techniques by the staffs. This could be detrimental to the patients and also for the healthcare professionals. It affects the reputation, growth and sustainability of the healthcare unit. Hence, strict control, monitoring and evaluation is a mandate for ensuring effective adherence to the established guidelines of infection prevention as set up by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia under the Government of Australia.
References:
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Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. (2018). National Infection Control Guidelines. Retrieved from safetyandquality.gov.au: https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/our-work/healthcare-associated-infection/national-infection-control-guidelines/
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Council, National Health and Medical Research. (2010). Part A: Basics of Infection Prevention and Control.
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National Health and Medical Research Council. (2018). Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare (2010).
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NHMRC. (2010). Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare (2010). Retrieved from https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines-publications/cd33: https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines-publications/cd33
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NHMRC. (2010). Infection Prevention and Control. Retrieved from nhmrc.gov.au: https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/health-topics/infection-prevention-and-control
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Zingg, & Walter. (2015). Hospital organisation, management, and structure for prevention of health-care-associated infection: a systematic review and expert consensus. The Lancet Infectious Diseases , Volume 15 , Issue 2, 212-224.
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